The B-side of the Moon

There was a lot of pretence and posturing in the 1980s: the pout and mid-distance stare was the template’ for fashion models and pop stars alike. Cyndi Lauper was an exception. She didn’t take herself too seriously. She dressed in what looked like second-hand clothes, though it is too much to expect that they really were. And at a time when image was all, she was not especially good looking – just fun, and likeable, and with an odd, expressive voice.

One measure of her talent was the ability to deliver sentimental songs without sliding into the schmaltz. “Time after Time” was one ; the A side of this release “True Colours” is another. Almost soppy, but not. Somehow, touching and affirming.

“True Colours” can be heard on mainstream radio to this day, and on Planet Vinyl we lean to the unfamiliar, and explore the dark side of the Moon. This track, the B-side to “True Colours” not included on any album, and I have never heard it before. “Heading for the Moon”, it is called, and it is an attempt at an inspirational number. It is all about sailing over the water, and putting those shadows out of your mind, and heading for the stars. Nothing startlingly original there, and the arrangement is similar to a lot of synth-pop from the mid-1980s. But still there is a quality there in the singing, which lifts the song, gives it conviction and meaning. You believe it, and it makes you feel a bit better on a grey day.